Saturday, November 14, 2015

Stamping Out Fretting Complaint

SO THEN, my dear friends, just as
you always listen intently, whether you felt anyone was watching or not,
continue to work hard in doing God’s will as if God were actually present,
knowing he is coming, because you know he is at work in you passively by his
will, as you ponder it, and actively by the work he’s doing in and through you.
Do everything without murmuring grumbling, which leads to self-deception, so
everyone will find you without fault; a blessed child of God above reproach in
every way. Don’t be caught fretting, especially when people scheme and appear
to succeed, for fretting leads to complaining, and complaining leads to anger,
and anger leads to evil. This can never be what God wants from or for you. God
will vindicate the injustices done against you. If you respond as you can and
should, God will make you shine like the dawn, and you will blaze like the
midday sun. Trust God and all will be well. Do all these things that I commend
to you this day, and you will shine like the biggest star in the universe for
all of heaven to see.

The above paragraph is my
paraphrase of a meld of Philippians 2:12-16 and Psalm 37:4-8.

When people
seem to get ahead,

And you
wonder when justice will come,

Revert to
the Lord instead,

And before him let your petition
run.

The purpose of prayer of petition —
beyond the words of the prayers we pray — is to change our frame of mind, which
in turn will transform the emotions we feel.

What good use
is complaining, my dear,

If our
complaints don’t go to God as prayers?

Our friends
may appear to hear,

But it’s really only God who cares.

Complaints are fuel for the right
kind of prayer. The problem with complaints when we go horizontal rather than
vertical is we get ourselves further away from a response of obedience. The
only exception to this is time we make to talk with people who can help us with
a process to deal responsibly with our complaints.

Don’t fret
when anxiousness reigns,

Look up
when life’s in disarray,

For despite
your struggles and pains,

God can turn your skies blue from
grey.

Look up. Change your perspective.
Challenge yourself to believe life’s circumstances will change. Only when we put
down a deposit of hope will we have belief enough to search every day for a new
day through faith. We must fight for a better day; that’s the designation of
our hope.

Discern God’s
will and do it,

And your
Lord will vindicate you,

Know by
this you’re spiritually fit,

By this God will show you as true.

Our chief role is to do God’s will.
Discerning that is more than half the battle.

Fretting and complaining give no
benefit if we don’t pray and make for change today.